Indian credit card industry - On an upswing

(1) Do you have a credit card? (2) How many credit cards do you have? Yes, the question has shifted from (1) to (2) in recent years as the credit card penetration is increasing at a good pace. Today, India has close to 50 million credit card users.

As per recent industry estimates there are about 20 million credit and debit card users in India. The number of credit and debit cards in active use in 2008 has been in the range of 25 and 40 million. And the number continues to multiply.

On Cards & Commencement

In 1951, the first bank credit card appeared in New York's Franklin National Bank for loan customers. The idea, though, had already been experimented with in various forms much before. In India, Andhra Bank was the first to introduce credit cards in 1981.

However, the idea of keeping multiple cards is a relatively new trend. For good or for bad, the trend is catching up and the Indian credit card industry is witnessing this shift from one to multiple.

On Cards & Changes

At the ‘mass’ level, the credit card as well as the loyalty card boom started early this decade. That’s the time when the telemarketers swamped just about everyone with offers for new credit cards. Hard to believe, today it is not tough to find a person with four credit cards and another 20 plastics, including club membership, airline and hotel membership and dining discount cards. Barely a decade ago, it was a common fear in India to lose money through misuse of credit card. There was also a mental block against owing money to someone. That psyche has definitely altered.